It’s not every day that you see an art exhibition at a perfume boutique, and it was eye-opening to see how similar the visual arts and the art of perfumery are.
French luxury perfume house Maison 21G commissioned digital illustrator André Wee and photographer Lee Yik Keat to create artworks based on the art of perfumery and scents curated by brand founder and scent designer Johanna Monage. We even got a masterclass from her on how to appreciate different scent families. Complementing the whole experience is a funky soundtrack by DJ and producer MYRNE .
It was cool to see how Lim utilised double exposure photography in his artworks to parallel how scent notes are layered in perfumery while smelling the scents the works were inspired by. Each of his works recalls various scent families, ranging from woody, floral, and aquatic. Scanning the QR code on each text label event reveals a soundtrack to accompany Lim’s works.
On the other hand, Wee’s whimsical digital animation piece depicted vibrant natural forms — such as flora, moss and rocks — alongside a Maison 21G perfume bottle. This is meant to celebrate “the convergence of two scents in a bottle that had come together and created something new.”
What’s interesting is how the flora, moss and rocks featured in the piece were forms that Wee 3D scanned while he was out hiking.
To top off the multi-sensory experience, we were also treated to a brandy-based cocktail inspired by woody notes such as cedarwood and vetiver.
Overall, we’d say A Polysensorial Reconnection is definitely worth checking out for a unique, and arguably, interdisciplinary exhibition that engages the senses.
A Polysensorial Reconnection will be open to the public from 10 – 17 November at Maison 21G Duxton Flagship Boutique and 19 – 25 November at Maison 21G Marina Bay Sands Boutique.
